Dispensing mechanism



April 1942- J. L. MYERS 2,278,793

DISPENSING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 7. 1 941 m .'-"f;.

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Patented Apr. 7, 1942 UNITED stares rarest OFFICE 2 2,278,793 I yDISPENSING MECHANISM John L. Myers, Felicity, Ohio Appiioation February7, 1941, SerialNo. 277,777

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whereby cones of bo h'types ma be served in a sanitary manner, i. e.,,without at any time contacting the cone with the hand either in placingthe same in the dispensing receptacle tor in removing it thereirom. k

In the present vapparatus the stacks .,.of cones are placed in thereceptacle. for retailing without applying the hands to .thecones in anymanner wh soever. To secure'this result the manu-' facturers of icecream cones have devised sanitary squares .or packages each containingone hundred (.100) nested cones in stacks of twentyfive (2 5) each, ofeach style cone. To load -a dispensling receptacle, the bottom of thepackage is cut oil? from its four sides, thus disclosing the bottompointedends of the cones of each stack to view. A square .or rectangulardispensing frame, which is provided with gripping springs torcontrolling and retaining the ,dispensing of the individual cone membersisplaoed uniformly unon the open cut on? ends .of the package, with thegripping springs of the said frame extending upwardly thereon. In thisform the insertion of the combined dispensing frame and cone pack-age iscarried out-While, both are in an upside Ydown position, that is to saywhen the closed end of the package is downward. The receptacles too o enend is inverted for insertion and takes on and over said frame andpackage. until the ed es of the frame bottom reach the stop meansprovided in the sides of the receptacle. By placing I the hand under theclosed bottom of the package, the receptacle is righted into a verticalposition and is then ready for dispensing cones therefrom.

The invention therefore consists in the .provi sion of means for holdinga square or rectangular frame with spring gripping means and the loweropen end of a carton containing cones, the mechanism including a casingin which the carton is inclosed, supporting shoulders for receiving thelower edge of the frame and a dispensing lower door so constructed andarranged as to present the cones being dispensed in ,a manner that willfacilitate their handling Another object of the invention is to providea structure of the type in question in which the essential parts are.struck from the main casing, thereby materially reducing the expense ofmanufacture. k I r h Other features residing in the novel conuc on andarra gement o pa ts m re .1ear1y sho n i h att ched d aw f rmin pa o hes e ific t and whe e i e hara ters o en e esi t h cor e ond n par r u hothe everal v ews in which 1 i a perspective v ew- (Fig! 2 is a ve ticasectio Eie-3isarear view,,a d

Fla 4 ice secti n on in '47-! :c ig- In the d awi .theinvention iustrated c mri e irc t wal L rear wa 2 and s w 1 These wa ls are made ofsuitable light weight sheet metal of any form but preierably' of thetype pre n in .a' pl s g appearance inasmuch as the structure is onewhich is normally placed in a display position. Theiront wall I isshort-. ened, terminating at a point 3',,slightly below the horizontalcenter line of the assembly. {Theside Walls 3 extend re-arwardly and.downwardly to connect with the rear wall 2 which latter extendsmaterially .below the ,bottom edge .of the front wall. Substantiallybelow the upper edge of the front wall I and side walls ,3s-3, are theinwardly extending elongated stops .or supporting shoulders A formed byvdepressing. the walls inwardly as shown and serving to support thedispensing frame. These stops or shoulders 4 are provided to supporththedispensing frame and cone container both shown in dotted line. The

stops Afextend horizontaly in a common .plane and at such a position asto suspend the cones in a manner to permit their successful dispensingas shown clearly in Fig. 2. These depressions extend substantiallyacross the front walls 2 and the side walls 3 presenting an elongatedsupporting surface of a nature which will prevent cantiner of the conesupport.

The side walls 3 are further each formed with elon ated inwardlyextending depressed portions 5 which extend along the inclined loweredge thereof just above their bottom margins, To the bottom edge of therear wall 2 there is secured by means of the hinge 6 the bottom closurewhich includes bottom wall 1, side walls 8 and I front wall 9. The sidewalls 8 and the front wall 9 complete the walls 1 and 3 of the maindispensing body and form therewith a substantially rectangular unit.

The upper edges of the side walls 8 are each formed with elongateddepressions ID, the wall portion forming same cooperating with thedepressed portions 5 of the side walls 3 to interengage and secure thehinged bottom in its closed position. The inter-engagement of the parts5 and I0 is facilitated by the light metallic structure involved whichinherently provides the essential resiliency. A handle H is provided forswinging the hinged bottom to its downward position when cones are beingdispensed through the mechanism and from the cone packages. A supportll. is illustrated for supporting the dispensing chamber, this supportincluding the clamp plates I2 and I4 which together with the thumb screwl5 provide a clamping means therefor. Supporting brackets are indicatedby reference characters l6 and H, the upper bracket l6 beinghorizontally positioned and the lower bracket l1 extending downwardlytherefrom at a point intermediate its length. Each of these brackets isprovided with a pair of spaced key slots l8 to cooperate with headedsupporting elements. The brackets are further of tubular form permittinginsertion of the upper end of the support l2 if this type of suspensionis desired.

By means of the foregoing construction there has been provided acontainer to facilitate the dispensing of cones from their originalpackage, this dispensing container being of pleasing design, relativelycheap to manufacture and of such long front wall, the angular side wallsof said closure being formed with projections adapted to inter-engagethe projections at the marginal edges of the side walls, and a supportfor said device.

2. In a device of the class described, a container including front andrear walls and connecting side walls, the front wall being relativelyshort and terminating above the rear wall and the side walls terminatingin lower angular marginal edges connecting the front and rear walls,

horizontally arranged shoulders formed in the front wall and side wallsin a common plane and intermediate their length to provide supportingsurfaces, a hinged closure having angular front walland side walls in acommon plane a construction that the cones being dispensed can beprotected at all times against contact which might result in theirbreakage or their contact with dirt, contrary to regulations governingdispensing to the public. It will be obvious that the cones are readilyaccessible at all times, but may be kept inclosed by swinging the theside walls terminating in lower angular mar-.

ginal edges connecting the bottom edges of the front and rear walls,horizontally arranged internally extending elongated shoulders formed inthe front wall and side walls at a point substantially intermediate thelength of said walls, elongated projections extending along the lowerangular edges of the side walls, and a hinged closure having angularside walls and a relatively and intermediate their length. to providesupporting surfaces, a hingedclosure having angular side Walls andarelatively long front wall, the marginal upper. edgesof the .angularside walls being adapted to overlap the marginal edge portions of thesidewalls of said container, said overlying edges having elongatedinter-engaging parts arranged to extend in a common plane when saidclosure is moved to closed position to secure the parts together.

porting surfaces, a hinged closure having angular side walls and arelatively long front wall, the marginal upper edges of the angular sidewalls being adapted to overlap the marginal edge portions of the sidewalls of said container, said overlying edges having elongatedinter-engaging parts arranged to extendin a common plane forinter-engagement when said closure is moved to closed position to securethe parts together.

JOHN L. MYERS.

